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Costs and incentivesExplainer

What Solar Incentives Does the UAE Offer?

Grants are the first thing many customers ask about. We explain what the UAE offers instead, utility by utility, and how each one's rules change your case.

By Basheer Ansari, Managing Director & Co-Founder

4 min readLast reviewed

Solar panels in a row between air-conditioning units on a villa roof, Ajman
Rooftop solar between the air-conditioning units on a villa in Ajman: the saving is on the bill.Solar Oasis project, Ajman

The short answer

The UAE offers no cash subsidies or grants for solar: the incentive is the savings on your bill. In Dubai, DEWA's Shams Dubai net metering credits your surplus on future bills. In Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and the Northern Emirates, systems are zero-export, with hybrid (battery) and off-grid options, so the saving comes from the solar you use.

electricity bill offset
Up to 90% or more

With Dubai net metering, or a larger home battery elsewhere. Depends on usage, roof and battery size.

On this page7 sections

Is there a solar subsidy in the UAE?

No. No emirate pays a cash subsidy, grant, rebate or feed-in tariff for villa or commercial solar. The incentive is the savings on your bill: every kilowatt-hour the roof makes is one you do not buy.

A smaller bill: the incentive in every emirate. Illustration
Feed-in tariff
A payment for every kWh exported to the grid. No UAE utility offers one.

How does net metering work in Dubai?

Under DEWA's Shams Dubai programme, your system is connected with a bidirectional meter:

  • you generate solar during the day,
  • the surplus is exported to DEWA's grid,
  • DEWA credits it on your future bills,
  • the credits offset what you import at night.

How we design in Dubai:

  • villa systems are designed for net metering under Shams Dubai,
  • we don't offer hybrid systems or batteries in Dubai,
  • the panels and a DEWA-approved inverter are named in your proposal.

Every unit solar makes is one you don't buy at your tariff.

For the steps, see our Shams Dubai guide; for the numbers, the Dubai villa cost guide.

Net metering in Dubai: surplus solar goes to the grid. Illustration

What about Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and the Northern Emirates?

In Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and the Northern Emirates, systems are zero-export, with hybrid (battery) and off-grid options. Nothing is credited for export, so the system is sized to the load you use while the sun is up. Solar works hardest where:

  • daytime use is high (cooling, a workshop, a cold store),
  • a battery moves the midday surplus into the evening, and doubles as backup for outages,
  • a farm or remote site runs off-grid and saves generator hours.

  • Dubai

    Utility
    DEWA
    How systems connect
    Net metering under Shams Dubai

  • Abu Dhabi

    Utility
    TAQA (ADDC, AADC)
    How systems connect
    Zero-export, with hybrid and off-grid options

  • Sharjah

    Utility
    SEWA
    How systems connect
    Zero-export, with hybrid and off-grid options

  • Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah

    Utility
    EtihadWE
    How systems connect
    Zero-export, with hybrid and off-grid options
Table 1. How solar connects in each emirate, as we design it.
Zero-export: the sun runs your own home first. Illustration
Zero-export
A system sized and controlled so that no power flows back into the grid.
Solar array on ballast blocks on a flat concrete roof under high cloud, Al Jurf, Ajman
A ballasted array on a flat concrete roof in Al Jurf, Ajman.Solar Oasis project, Ajman

How much can a home save?

Solar can take up to 90% or more off your electricity bill. With Dubai net metering, or a larger home battery elsewhere. Depends on usage, roof and battery size. See your own payback in our calculator. It depends on your usage.

Sun to savings. Illustration

What does the UAE not offer?

  • No cash-back subsidies or grants
  • No feed-in tariff
  • No free solar schemes
  • No upfront rebates
Rebate
A refund of part of the price after you buy. No UAE scheme offers one for solar.

Where does the value come from?

  1. Net metering (Dubai): export the surplus, receive DEWA credits, pay a smaller bill.
  2. Lower electricity bills everywhere: every unit solar makes is one you don't buy at your tariff.
  3. Long-life equipment: Panels carry a 25–30 year performance warranty.
  4. The UAE's clean energy goals: the UAE Energy Strategy 2050 aims to triple the contribution of renewable energy by 2030.
Sun, panels, inverter, home. Illustration

How does Solar Oasis help?

Every system is designed to your utility's current rules: DEWA, SEWA, TAQA or EtihadWE. We design villa and business systems in all seven emirates: net metering in Dubai; zero-export, hybrid and off-grid systems in Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and the Northern Emirates. Every proposal names the panels and inverter and shows the saving worked from your own bill, and business systems run from 25 kWp to 1,000+ kWp, priced per site.

The system's generation, checked on a tablet. Illustration

FAQs

All 47 questions →

No. There are no cash subsidies, grants or rebates for villa or commercial solar. The incentive is the savings on your bill.

Dubai. Under DEWA's Shams Dubai, surplus solar is exported and credited on your future bills. In Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and the Northern Emirates, systems are zero-export.

Often, yes, when much of your use falls in daylight or a battery moves the surplus into the evening. See your own payback in our calculator. It depends on your usage.

It lowers running costs for as long as the panels produce. Panels carry a 25–30 year performance warranty. The bill saving is the part you can measure.

Keep reading

The incentive is the saving on your bill. Let's find yours.

Your bill has the answer. Calculate your savings now, or WhatsApp us your bill and a real person reads it. Then book your free site survey & energy check.